Nightmares and Dreams
by Skyrvy
Summary: When Jakob awakes to a sound and realizes that it's his mistress Corrin crying out next door, he rushes to aid her, finding that she has just been having a nightmare. When she wakes up, she begins sobbing, and Jakob comforts her... This is an alternate version of how Jakob and Corrin from Fire Emblem Fates tell their feelings for each other. Jakob/Joker/Corrin/Kamui/Female avater
1. Chapter 1

Jakob woke up in a panic, a sense of urgency and fear rushing through him, but he didn't know why. He sat up, and then he heard it again, what had awoken him.

Lady Corrin screaming.

In night shirt and trousers, he burst from his room where he slept next door. Dagger in hand and terror clutching his heart, he burst into Corrin's private quarters, violet eyes searching the darkness for some intruder. But there was nothing. No one, and Lady Corrin lay in her bed, screaming and crying.

Jakob ran to her, dropping the dagger, and kneeling beside her, shaking her awake as his heart tore in two at her pitiful cries.

"No!" She screamed, and her eyes opened. In the darkness of the room with the nightmare still chasing her, she tried to pull away from Jakob, not recognizing him.

"It's me, Corrin! It's Jakob. You're ok! You're safe!"

In the small light the moon cast into the room, Jakob could see the terror disappearing from her eyes as she realized it had all been a dream. She suddenly sobbed, and wrapped her arms around him, clutching him so tightly, he had to slide onto her bed. "You're ok!" she cried through her tears. "You're here!"

His own arms slid around her to comfort her as she cried into his chest. "Sh, of course I'm ok. I'm ok; you're ok. It was just a nightmare. I'm here," Jakob murmured in a continuous string of reassurances.

With Corrin shaking in his arms, Jakob suddenly realized their closeness and their lack of dress, himself in nightshirt and trousers, and his lady in nothing but a crumpled shirt and shorts, and he glanced behind him to see if anyone else had been woken by her screams. Fortunately, the door was closed, and other than Corrin's diminishing tears, all was silent.

He knew he should move back, regardless of whether they were being watched. She was a princess, and he was her butler. He swallowed and decided she needed him, and he wasn't going let her go until she wanted him to. He tightened his grip on her.

A few moments more, and her sobs had calmed to silent tears, and she was barely trembling. "Lady Corrin?" He murmured cautiously.

"I'm-I'm alright…" She didn't let go, didn't even loosen her grip, so Jakob didn't either.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I—Yes. No!" She let out a shaky breath against his chest. "You must think me ridiculous, turning into a mess of tears over a nightmare."

"Never, Corrin! I could never possibly think you ridiculous."

"You mean that, Jakob?"

"Of course, I do." She took another breath and pulled from him. Immediately he released his hold on her, though he wished he could take her back and hold her close once more.

"I—I dreamed that we were in battle." Her voice was low and small, and Jakob leaned closer, watching her face in the moonlight. "We were ambushed, taken by surprise, and we were all in dire straits. I fought off a soldier, only to turn and find another standing before me, his sword raised in the air. In that instant before he struck, I knew I wouldn't be fast enough to deflect his sword. I knew I was going to die."

Jakob's heart tore apart. "My Lady, you needn't fear that any more, for in battle, I will protect you. I will lay down my life if necessary—"

"No!" Corrin cried, suddenly grabbing his arms and looking at him with tears in her eyes. "No, Jakob, you must never _ever_ die to protect me! You must promise me!"

Taken aback, Jakob stuttered, "I—I can't—I can't promise that."

"No, you must!" and Corrin's voice broke as another sob hitched in her throat. She looked away, "Jakob, you died!"

"I—What?"

"In my dream!" She explained. "In my nightmare, before the swordsman could make the killing blow, you leapt in front of me, you took the sword through your chest, and you died in my arms!"

Jakob was stunned. Lady Corrin had been having a nightmare about him dying? She had been screaming and weeping in her sleep… because she thought he had died? "M-My Lady," he murmured, moved and at a loss for words.

Corrin shook her head, fighting back tears, then looked at him once again. "You must promise me, Jakob. You must promise me you will never die to save me. I-I could not bear it! I could not survive without…" her eyes flickered down, then up once more. Her voice went low, "without _you_ , Jakob."

Jakob tried and failed to calm his racing heart. As unemotionally as he could, he replied, "I cannot make that promise to you, Corrin." She looked down, her expression turning into misery and hopelessness. His voice faded to a whisper, "I cannot make that promise, because I could not survive without _you_." She glanced back up at him, an unidentifiable emotion on her face, and he couldn't stop himself from saying, "You're—You're everything to me."

Corrin looked at him. Searched his face as a light shined in her eyes. "Well then," she murmured. "I'll just have to be there to protect you when you try to protect me…"

Jakob gasped, then suddenly realized their proximity. They were so close, he could feel her breath on his skin. "You can't do that…," he said. "You _mustn't_."

A small laugh escaped her lips, and Jakob glanced down her face, leaning forward unconsciously. His eyes returned to hers. "You'll find, Jakob, that I can do what I want…" she paused, slightly breathless. "I can—I can do what I want because I'm the princess. And—And" mere inches away, she looked at him, clearly losing her train of thought. Remembering what point she was trying to make, she finished, "And it isn't fair that _you_ can protect the person who means everything to you, but _I_ can't."

It took a second for the meaning of these words to pierce Jakob's dazed thoughts. When it did, his eyes widened, and he lost his breath completely. "Lady Corrin—do you mean—could you possibly mean—?" he didn't know how to finish his sentences.

"Jakob," Corrin stopped him. "I love you! I—I" she swallowed. "Do you—care for me?"

He looked at her tear-streaked face wondering if this were at all possible or whether it was some incredible dream. "How could you ever doubt it?!" The words tore themselves from his lips, and he found that his hands had somehow moved to her delicate shoulders. "My Lady—My Corrin—I've been in love with you for—for— _forever_!" His palms touched her cheeks. "Never did I think I would—I would have the chance—" he stuttered, as Corrin's expression twisted in his hands to tear-streaked happiness. "Never, but in my dreams did I think I'd hear those words from you! Of course I love you!" He cried. Then he moved towards her, and in just a whisper, "of course I love you."

Then he closed the small space that remained between them, and he pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her passionately, desperately, while his heart pounded in his ears, his temples, and he could feel Corrin's through her mouth every time their lips touched. His thumbs stroked her cheeks, and she leaned into him. He pulled himself closer to her, breaking the kiss for just a moment while one arm went to her back, the other sliding under her bare legs, and he scooped her up, holding her in his arms, placing her in his lap. He kissed her again, this time with his arms about her, and hers looping around his neck, her body forming against his until there was very nearly no space between them at all.

His mouth moved to her chin, to her jaw, while she kissed his nose, his cheek, whatever she could reach. When he pressed his lips to her neck, he forced his trembling desire down and lifted his eyes to meet hers. "I—I should go before I lose myself entirely."

"Don't go," Corrin muttered, her eyes half-closed. "Just stay. We'll just—we'll just sleep, Jakob, and you can't refuse to stay. I need you with me. I need to know the nightmare is over, and the d _ream_ is real."

"Corrin." Jakob kissed her, ignoring the voice in his head telling him he must leave... Breathless, he pulled back. "Marry me, Corrin."

A deliriously happy giggle bubbled from her lips, and she tightened her embrace on him. "Of course, I'll marry you, Jakob."

Indescribable joy washed over him, and he just stared at her for a moment, stunned and amazed, not fully believing that this could be true. She returned his look, smiled at him. "I love you, Jakob."

He crushed his lips to hers, moving across them, his tongue slipping into her mouth, and when he was completely breathless, he kissed along her face and whispered in her ear, "I love you back, Corrin."


	2. Pillow Talk

_Oh, gods, that was the most amazing dream…_ Jakob came back to consciousness slowly, sunlight drifting across his eyelids. He didn't truly want to wake up. He wanted to sink back into oblivion and live in a world in which his True Love loved him back.

He waslaying on his side, and he was _so_ comfortable, so warm. He didn't want to force his eyes open to daylight. Though he hated mornings, largely because he had to slip from those impossibly perfect dream worlds back into reality, he was used to facing them in order to prepare his lady's breakfast and run her bath and perform other such butlery morning tasks.

 _Speaking of which, I have to get up. Corrin will be waking soon._ He groaned.

"A few more minutes…" murmured a sleepy voice that… that sounded an _awful_ lot like Lady Corrin…

Jakob's eyes were suddenly wide open.

Wide open and disbelieving.

For Corrin's face was a mere inch from his own, a mere breath away, her hair a beautiful mess spread across her pillow and inching over towards him and… Jakob's arms were around her, and Corrin's hands were clutching the fabric of his nightshirt… Just then, she snuggled closer, a smile in her voice as she said, "Jakob…" Her eyes were still closed, but she tilted her face towards his, and he could kiss her if he made the slightest movement…

 _It wasn't a dream! Gods, it wasn't a dream!_ The entirety of the events of the previous night that he had put off as one of his many fantasies came rushing back to him. His heart thudded in his chest, and he had a hard time breathing all of a sudden. His princess had agreed to marry him. _Him_! A butler—a nothing!

"Are you really here?" He whispered, half suspecting he had slipped from sanity into impossibility.

Corrin shifted slightly and slowly opened her deep red eyes. To Jakob's astonishment, a wide smile spread across her face at the sight that greeted her. A bit of pink colored her cheeks. Again she murmured, "Jakob." Then, "it _was_ real." She moved closer to him still, which Jakob hadn't thought possible, and it was all he could do to keep from kissing her. "I was afraid I might have _wished_ it all."

"You—You mean to say that you—that you're… That is," Jakob stuttered. "You're happy?"

" _Happy_. Happy is too small a word." Then something seemed to occur to her, and doubt crossed her face. "Are _you_ … happy?"

He laughed, "Yes! Yes, My Corrin. I've never in my life been happier! I just didn't think this could be possible! I didn't think—"

Corrin cut him off by pressing her lips against his, and Jakob murmured in surprise, a delighted thrill going down his spine. He instantly kissed her back, his arms pulling her against him. Shockwaves danced through him everywhere their skin touched… his mouth moving against hers, his hands somehow finding their way under her shirt onto her back, her fingers brushing the skin just beneath his nightshirt… Her legs intertwined with his. Jakob's tongue brushed across her lips, and she moaned, her lips instantly parting, and he was losing his mind!

He forced himself back, breathless, but he couldn't stay away and dusted her lips and nose and cheek with light kisses. Corrin chuckled delightedly and whispered, "I couldn't have dreamed a more perfect morning. I love you!"

Jakob sighed at those words and captured her lips again, kissing her briefly before pulling himself back and just looking at her… His fingers traced her face as if he were blind and needed to memorize her through touch. "I can't believe you would choose me," he murmured.

She smiled at him, nuzzled against his chin. "You… You complete me, Jakob. Ever since we were little, you did. It just took me a while to realize it." She brushed her lips across his jaw. "You were always there for me. I mean, I know you were my butler, but you were so much more than that. You were my friend. My confidant. My guardian."

Her eyes flickered across his face, and Jakob pressed his mouth to hers, grazing her lips until he felt dizzy, a fire burning in the pit of his stomach, and he pulled back and inch.

Corrin's eyes dazedly looked into his, and it took her a moment to recall what she was going to say. She bit her lip, as it slowly came back to her. "When—When we were briefly separated after Ganglari, of course I missed you fiercely, and I kept wishing for your support, your steadiness… But more than that, I felt like something was missing... I kept looking over my shoulder, as if I'd see you standing by my side, encouraging me. Watching over me. When you weren't there, I felt… I felt _lost_."

Unconsciously, Jakob's arms tightened around her. "Can you ever forgive me? After we were separated, I wasn't sure where they took you, and it took me a while to catch up."

"Oh, Jakob," Corrin touch his face. "It wasn't your fault. You don't need forgiveness." She smiled at him. "Just try to never leave my side again."

"My beloved," Jakob spoke fervently, "I never will, if I can help it."

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, and they both stiffened, startled, and looking at each other.

 _Oh no_! Jakob thought. _No one must find us in here together in this position! Even if nothing really happened, Lady Corrin's reputation will be—_ His frantic thought froze as Corrin grinned at him, as if she thought it would the most natural thing in the world to be found entangled in her butler's arms. She cleared her throat, "Um, who is it?"

A muffled voice sounded from the door, "It's Kaze, milady. I have just received a report from ours spies on the enemy's movements and wanted to discuss it with you."

"Ah…" For a terrified moment, Jakob thought she might invite him in. "Well I'm not really up yet," she said, and Jakob almost sighed with relief. "Give me twenty minutes, and I'll meet you in the mess hall?"

"Of course."

The pair remained silent for a few moments, just to be sure, then Corrin giggled. "If you could have seen your expression!"

"Well, my lady, it would have been highly improper if—"

"Jakob," she interrupted him. "I wouldn't have cared if Kaze saw us like this. I wouldn't have cared if anyone had. Because I love you. And there's the fact that you're my fiancé now… Speaking of which, don't you think you should drop the titles?"

Jakob chuckled, abashed. "Yes, my Corrin. I should most certainly drop the titles. But about Kaze or anyone else, I wouldn't want your reputation to be—"

"You are too perfect," she whispered against his lips. "I don't deserve you."

"You don't deserve—My darling, I think you have that completely reversed! The fact that you would even say that at all… I—I—" He was speechless. He let out a breath, and just finished with, "I love you desperately."

He stopped her reply with a kiss, warm and fierce, locking his arms around her until she was so close to him, so entangled in him, that she wasn't sure where she ended and Jakob began.

Joy started in her stomach, and flowed throughout every pore of her body until even her fingers were tingling. She had never thought such a perfect dream as this could come true!

She threaded her fingers in Jakob's hair, curling her body against his, and thought she might end up being late to that meeting…


End file.
